Luke Shaw has opened up on the "bad mistakes" he made which saw him lose hope on ever being recalled for England duty.
The Manchester United full-back is having arguably his best ever season at the club, having made 35 appearances in all competitions - his second most of any Reds campaign with plenty of games still to go.
Other than Bruno Fernandes, Shaw has been United's standout performer this term and his attacking presence has grown dramatically.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer drafted in Alex Telles at the beginning of the season, an attacking left-back who brought with him an impressive record of goals and assists from Porto.
But Shaw's form has kept the Brazilian's game time limited.
As such, his fine displays have seen Southgate pick Shaw for his latest England squad.
Shaw hasn't played a game for England since 2018 and when asked if he lost hope of ever been recalled, he told United's official website : “Yeah, I think so. At times, I made bad mistakes, pulling out of squads maybe at times when I shouldn’t have. That was down to me.
“Of course, back then, I was going through bad times. Especially my family and my girlfriend, they thought that it was done.
“At the start of the season I had ambitions and sat down with my girlfriend and said that I wanted to get back in the England squad, doing everything I can to be back there. You know, of course with my form, I thought there was a bigger chance than ever that I could be back in it.
“Gladly, Gareth’s given me another opportunity to be involved in there, so I’m just really happy and honoured to be selected again. Hopefully I can show Gareth why I deserve a spot in the squad.”
England take on San Marino, Albania and Poland in the final two weeks of March as Shaw hopes to continue his impressive rise.
